Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

How are wills legal?
My mother was living with this man for 13 years in the state of Wisconsin. He died and left a will. It was never notarized or filed in a court. Is the will still good? I was under the impression that it had to be notarized before it to be legal but my mother informed me that he had called a lawyers office and was told that it did not have to be notarized. What is the real story?

Asked on 2/11/02, 6:47 pm

Thomas Schober Schober Schober & Mitchell, S.C.

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Re: How are wills legal?

Holographic, or handwritten, wills are not recognized in Wisconsin.

To be valid, a will must be properly witnessed. Without

witnesses, it is invalid. Depending on when it was

executed, the requirements for witnessing have changed.

Older rules required the witnesses to sign in the

presence of the testator and in the presence of each

other, in the same fashion that the testator must sign.

Newer rules are a bit more liberal. Notarization has

never been a requirement or even has meaning with

respect to executing wills.

Answered on 2/12/02, 4:28 pm

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